nor St. Lucie Canal discharges sig- 

 nificantly affect fishing pressure 

 throughout the estuary. On the other 

 hand, increases in North Fork dis- 

 charges (C-23A) were found to be 

 correlated with increased South Fork 

 usage. However, fishing pressure in 

 both the North Fork and inlet section 

 were negatively affected by C-23 and 

 C-23A freshwater releases. 



Comparison of this study with 

 studies done on the North Fork in 

 1959 and fishermen counts done on the 

 estuary, indicate that less angler 

 days are spent on the St. Lucie now 

 than in the late 1950's. The cause 

 of this loss in angler usage over the 

 past 22 years may be the drop in 

 harvest percentages of the most de- 

 sirable species, notably snook, 

 croaker, and tarpon. In terms of 

 fishermen's expenditures, the cost 

 of this loss amounts to approximately 

 one million dollars per year. 



In conclusion, freshwater dis- 

 charges by the St. Lucie Canal were 

 found to have significant short-term 

 effects on the catch rates of nine 

 important estuarine species. Essen- 

 tially what this means to local 

 fishermen is that during discharges 

 species habits are less predictable, 

 and the augmented freshwater releases 

 are causing fish movements. 

 Long-term analyses show an actual 

 drop in angler usage of the estuary 

 in the face of great increases in 

 human populations. 



LITERATURE CITED 



American Fisheries Society. 

 Special Publication No. 6, 3rd 

 Edition, 1970. 



Gunter, J.; Hall, G. Biological 

 investigations of the St. Lucie 

 Estuary (Fla.) in connection 

 with Lake Okeechobee discharges 

 through the St. Lucie Canal, 

 1963. Gulf Coast Research Lab- 

 oratory 1(5): 189-307. 



Haunert, Daniel E.; Startzman, J. 

 Some seasonal fisheries trends 

 and effects of a 1,000 cfs 

 freshwater discharge on the 

 fishes and macroinvertebrates 

 in the St. Lucie Estuary, Flor- 

 ida, 1980. South Florida Water 

 Management District, Technical 

 Publication 803; 1980. 



U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Fish and 

 Wildlife Service. An interim 

 report on the fish and wildlife 

 resources in relation to the 

 Corps of Engineers plan of 

 development for the St. Lucie 

 Canals, Florida; 1959. 



U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Fish and 

 Wildlife Service. A report on 

 the effects of the St. Lucie 

 Canal discharges on the fish and 

 wildlife resources of the St. 

 Lucie River system (A unit of 

 Lake Okeechobee regulation) , 

 1960. Preliminary draft. 



A list of common and scientific names 

 of fishes from the United States 

 and Canada. Washington, D.C.: 



U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Fish and 

 Wildlife Service. 1970 National 

 Survey of Fishing and Hunting. 

 Resource Publication No. 95. 



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